When it comes to honey, Alyssa Fine and her husband Adam Revson, co-owners of Pittsburgh Honey and The Squirrel Hill Market, know how to create a buzz within the community.
Located on Murray Avenue in Squirrel Hill, Pittsburgh Honey opened in August 2017, adjacent to The Squirrel Hill Market.
"This will be our sixth year in the area," Fine said. "We focus on a lot of local products because it's kind of reciprocity with stores that carry our honey. If they have a product themselves that we can carry then, we try to do the same as they do for us."
Originally, Pittsburgh Honey was the only business Fine and Revson had in the cards until the COVID-19 pandemic sparked a new idea to help customers get access to the necessities they could no longer find in stores within the community.
"During the pandemic, we reverted to delivering honey to people, since we were ultimately closed for in-person operation," General Manager Ray Luco said. "When we delivered, people were like 'hey, can you also get me a gallon of milk, we will pay extra.' Then, we had the opportunity to open a market next door, with a pantry outside to drop off bags with other goods that people may need."
Finding new alternatives to help residents find goods and products during the pandemic sparked the opening of The Squirrel Hill Market, which provides those with local and regionally produced items in Pennsylvania.
"We drive all over and pick up things, for example, Penn State's Berkey Creamery Ice cream or, Bardine in Crab Tree for fresh products like their hotdogs or bacon," Fine said. "We also will travel to Harrisburg to pick up products like peanut butter from a tiny store in the area called Zimmerman's, we try to get a little bit of everything for the community to try!"
Even though the market has become known as one of the city's smallest grocery stores, it was also recognized as the "Best Corner Store in Pittsburgh" in 2022 by the Pittsburgh City-Paper.
The Squirrel Hill Market, however, is not to be confused with the Squirrel Hill Night and Farmers Market, which occur at different times throughout the year.
"The night market occurs roughly three times within the summer and will shut down part of Murray Avenue. The farmer's market is seasonal," Luco said. "We are open seven days a week, year-round, we are a lot different than the other markets in the area."
Photo provided from The Squirrel Hill Market's Facebook Page.
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